The computer hardware and programs can be optimized by the use of profiling. The term “profiling”, as used in the art refers to gathering of statistical data concerning hardware use or program execution, such as counts of the number of times that an instruction or block of instructions from a program is executed. The statistical data is called a “profile”. EP 1331565 describes a method of profiling execution of JAVA programs on a target machine and the use of the resulting profile to optimize the programs for subsequent use.
U.S. patent application No. 2006/75286 describes a method of “harvesting” profiles after computers have been provided to end users. This method involves locally generating profiles of hardware use on the computers, such as counts of the number of time the computers are switched on and off etc, and uploading the locally generated profiles to a central data base. As described in this document the harvested profiles can be used to realize improved designs of future computers, or to adapt the warranty of components like batteries etc. Unfortunately, the known profiling methods do not provide for improvement of programs after the programs have been supplied to end users other than by providing new releases of the programs. Known profiling is limited to pre-distribution improvement.